WELLBEING
at St Margaret’s College
THE SMC CORE ELEMENTS OF WELLBEING
CHARACTER
As a school community, St Margaret’s College is committed to developing character and capability, as demonstrated by the attributes of our Graduate Profile. Compassionate – going out of her way to help others in need. Confident – acceptance of body and mind with a belief in her own ability and skills. Lifelong Learner – gaining an ongoing, self-motivated pursuit of knowledge. Self-Manager – self-discipline and responsibility to be the best she can be. Effective Communicator – ability to understand her own emotions as well as those around her. Resilient – an ability to adapt with ease during adversity and recover quickly from misfortune.
HAUORA
Aotearoa New Zealand is a bicultural nation. To ensure and enable the wellbeing of all members of the St Margaret’s College community, we honour the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi – Partnership, Protection, and Participation. This approach allows all members of our community to be engaged and valued. When people feel a sense of connection and that their participation in the process is valued, they are able to flourish. The concept of well-being encompasses the physical, mental and emotional, social, and spiritual dimensions of health. Hauora is the Māori philosophy of health and forms the backbone of our wellbeing curriculum, especially Health and Physical Education, at St Margaret’s College. It is comprised of the following:
Collaborative – an ability to engage with people productively and efficiently with empathy and understanding. Flexible Critical Thinker – keeping an open mind while being inquisitive about a diverse range of issues. Responsible Citizen – showing respect for the community – people, place and property. Holistic Personal Growth – integrated development of body, mind, heart, spirit and dedication to a higher purpose. Academic – to achieve success, whatever success looks like for the individual. These attributes are not only a representation of each student as they head out into the world to live and lead, but also a reflection of the ethos of St Margaret’s that resonates throughout the school, from Year 1 to Year 13. Taha tinana – physical well-being – the physical body, its growth, development, and ability to move, and ways of caring for it. Taha hinengaro – mental and emotional well-being – coherent thinking processes, acknowledging and expressing thoughts and feelings and responding constructively. Taha whanau – social well-being – family relationships, friendships, and other interpersonal relationships; feelings of belonging, compassion, and caring; and social support. Taha wairua – spiritual well-being – the values and beliefs that determine the way people live, the search for meaning and purpose in life, and personal identity and self-awareness. Each of these four dimensions of hauora influences and supports the others.
FAITH
The foundations of St Margaret’s College are traditionally Anglican. Being Anglican however, is anything but being traditional and our faith is now represented by many denominations as we welcome girls from all over the world. We recognise that faith is involved in all aspects of wellbeing. Faith is the foundation that supports the dimensions of physical, emotional, mental, social and spiritual wellbeing. We know compassion for others first starts with compassion for ourselves.
SERVICE
When we serve, we are stretched and challenged and grow into stronger, better versions of ourselves. Service is an important aspect of being a well-rounded person and an active citizen of the world. We strive to see the needs of those around us and respond to what they need rather than what we want. We develop empathy and rich compassion, we see all perspectives and seek to understand.
HEADSPACE
Headspace is about supporting mental wellbeing, ensuring positive mental health and developing a growth mindset. We are encouraged to focus on and build our own unique character strengths. At St Margaret’s College we nurture the development of these strengths to empower our students and support their wellbeing, enabling them to flourish. Wellbeing can be defined as feeling good and functioning well. We do this through the five ways to wellbeing.
We emphasise the importance of community, connection and love. We gather together not only to worship but to support and serve those around us. Collectively we raise each other up through our faith, whatever that faith may be for each individual. The Anglican mission is to: Tell good news Teach and nurture Tend and care for people in need Work to transform unjust structure Treasure God’s creation
Engaging in service to something — a person, a group, a community, a cause or a belief — means engaging without expectation of reciprocation; giving without expectation of receiving is the truest definition of service. Giving connects us to others, creating stronger communities and helping to build a happier society for everyone.
Connect – talk, listen, be there, feel connected. Take notice – remember the simple things that give you joy. Be active – do what you can, enjoy what you do, move your mood. Keep learning – embrace new experiences, see opportunities and surprise yourself. Give – your your presence.
time,
your
words,
“URSTRONG”
Virtues Project “URSTRONG”
“URSTRONG”
“URSTRONG”
“Yes I Am, I Can, I Will” “URSTRONG”
Pre-School
Transition Programme “URSTRONG”
Te Whāriki Curriculum
WELLBEING PROGRAMMES AT ST MARGARET’S COLLEGE
year
year
year
year
year
year
1
2
3
4
5
6
REDS Character Strengths
Religious Education Arts, Sport & other Co-curricular Involvement Wellbeing Week
Transition Programme ENSS – English & Social Sciences “Bounce Back” Resilience Programme Year 7 Camp Week Year 8 SMC Challenge Big Life Journal Transition Programme Travellers Programme Buddy System with Year 13 Peer Support Programme Rite Journey Programme Year 10 Camp Week Step Up Programme Wellbeing Conference/Retreat Leadership Camp
Peer Support Programme Buddy Programme
year
year
year
year
year
year year
7 8
Goal Setting Community Service SchoolTV Parent Seminars
9 10
Tutor Groups
Wellbeing Committee
11
Health & Physical Education
Boarding Programmes
12 13
Life Skills IB CAS
At St Margaret’s College, the five core elements of wellbeing represented in the petals of our stylised camelia are integral to the tailored programmes that are delivered across the whole college. A variety of longstanding programmes such as REDS in the Junior School, Rite Journey in Year 10, the delivery of the Health and Physical Education curriculum, alongside the Tutor Groups and House systems all enable the St Margaret’s community to flourish.
REDS – YEARS 1-6 Responsible Citizens, Effective Communicators, Dynamic Thinkers Self-Managers The Junior School REDS programme helps to develop characteristics that we envisage a St Margaret’s College learner to have. By encouraging the development of these attributes and celebrating our students’ successes we seek to ensure that they are well equipped to tackle any challenges that their future years may bring. We believe that the journey to mastering their REDS fosters a positive learning
attitude develops empathetic and caring
College provides a challenging yet
individuals and supports the formation
supportive environment where girls
of lifelong friendships.
are able to develop effective learning
RITE JOURNEY – YEAR 10 The
Rite
Journey,
a
year-long
strategies to equip themselves for lifelong learning.
programme for Year 10 students,
STEP-UP – YEAR 11
develops unique life skills that support
Step-Up enables students of all abilities
our young women to be self-aware,
to develop a wide range of skills to
responsible and resilient. Each year the teachers create new traditions and challenges for the girls to weave their way through this unique and inspiring journey. It starts with farewelling their childhood and ends with acknowledging all those that have supported them and those that will continue to support them as they embark on their journey; their rite of
enhance
their
personal
wellbeing/
hauora, and their appreciation of general life skills. This course follows on from the Rite Journey, supporting learning in Year 11 and leads onto Year 12 Life Skills. A wide range of topics, relevant to the lives of teenagers aged 15 - 16 years are covered. Personal reflection, communication
and
appreciation
of others are interwoven through the
passage into adulthood.
programme.
The programme enables students to
LIFE SKILLS – YEAR 12 & YEAR 13
navigate through the minefield that can be adolescence in a positive, supportive way and provides opportunities to reflect on their life and gain skills that will be invaluable in the future.
Life Skills aims to hone the skills necessary to be adaptive and develop the positive behaviours necessary to deal effectively with the demands and
A complete education requires more than
challenges of everyday life. Areas
just classroom learning and St Margaret’s
of focus are: positive and healthy
relationships, keeping yourself safe around alcohol, mental health, careers education and peer support training. This course provides life skills for all students and provides them with healthy options for future years. The careers education component provides opportunity for discovery into tertiary education options.
PEER SUPPORT – YEAR 9/ YEAR 13 Peer Support at St Margaret’s College is run by our Year 13 Peer Support Leaders. In house groups, the Year 13 leaders (approx five leaders per house) run sessions for the Year 9 girls to help them to develop skills, knowledge and confidence to get to know the people around them. The Peer Support programme aims to help Middle School students develop meaningful connections in a safe environment. Some of the topics covered within the sessions include: • Getting to know you • Orientation of our School • Building a Group • Communication • Cooperation
• Self-Awareness • Peer Pressure • Bullying • Friendship and Trust
to
HEALTH & PE – YEARS 1-13
and collaboration with others, fostering
Throughout our Health and PE programmes, students are exposed to a variety of lessons which teach them about wellbeing/hauora, mindfulness tools, positive psychology, mental health (stress and anxiety and mindsets), assertiveness and decision making skills, exploring healthy friendships and relationships, sexuality, understanding your purpose and identity, critical thinking skills (taking a stand and exploring different perspectives), connections and collaboration, leadership development, empowering girls, goal setting, resilience. These are offered in a developmental scope and sequence designed to build on each other as the girls mature.
enjoyment. At the same time, CAS is
IB CAS A key part of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma, Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) enables students
enhance
their
personal
and
interpersonal development by learning through
experience.
opportunities a
sense
of
for
It
provides
self-determination
accomplishment
and
an important counterbalance to the academic side of IB. The three strands of CAS, which are often
interwoven
with
particular
activities, are characterised as follows: Creativity – arts, and other experiences that involve creative thinking. Activity – physical exertion contributing to a healthy lifestyle, complementing academic work elsewhere in IB. Service – an unpaid and voluntary exchange that has a learning benefit for the student. The rights, dignity and autonomy
of
all
those
involved
are respected. Students
reflect
on
their
CAS
experiences as part of IB and often comment on the valuable personal growth this has supported in their senior years at school.
THE STORY BEHIND THE WELLBEING CAMELLIA
The five core elements of St Margaret’s College’s wellbeing are represented on five petals of the white camellia, a symbol of women’s suffrage, empowerment and of love and admiration. The flower itself symbolises flourishing and growth. The petals can be taken individually or combined to create a holistic representation of support for the wahine toa of all ages of St Margaret’s College.